Improved alloy



d To all whom it may concern:

UNITED STATES PATENT OF ICE.

FREDERICK P. PFEIFFER, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

lM PROV-ED ALLOY.

Specification formingpart of Letters Patent No. 57,184, dated August 14, 1866,

and advantage to the public.

It is composed of materials in the proportions as follows:

Lead... 98 pounds Copper. -l

Tin H g Antimony a 4 Bismuth ii;

and is produced or manufactured as follows: I first take one pound of copper, as'it requires a greater amountof heat'for fusion than any of the other ingredients, to which I add one-eighth of a pound of bismuth for the purposeof m akin gthe copper fuse more readily.

I nextadd ninety-eight pounds of lead, one. eighth of a pound of antimony to render it more tenacious and give it more body and consistency, and to modify the corrosivenesspeculiar to lead, and then I add three-quarters of a pound of pure tin to make the whole more malleable and non-corrosive.

All the foregoing metals are to be put into a melting pot or furnace in the order, propor-- tions, and for the reasons above mentioned, and when properly'melted must be poured into a suitable mold or form and castings made thereof.

I plate or cover this alloy metal as follows: I melt pure tin, about ten pounds to a hundred pounds of the alloy metal, and pour it into a mold or form of the same size or a little larger than the mold used for casting the alloy metal. I next pass the cast or block of alloy metal between a pair of polished rollers,

reducing it one-fourth (more or less) of its original thickness, when it will be produced in strips or bands; and in the same manner- I reduce the cast or block of pure tin, when it will alsobe prepared in strips or bands. I

then take the prepared band or strip of pure tin and on it lay the band or strip of alloy metal and lap or completelycover the alloy metal with the pure tin. I then pass the whole through a pair of polished rollers, and by suff cient pressure perfectly unite the alloy and tin into a .solid body. This I reduce by the same process of rolling to such a degree of thinness as to suit my purpose, and to adapt it to use for roofing, sheeting, sheathin g, tin-foil, or for any purpose I may intend it.

Lead is the basis ofmy improved alloy, and is a cheap, soft metal, fusing at atemperature of 620 Fahrenheit; but, on account of its I contracting at"the moment of solidification,

itis unsuitable for castings. It also corrodes powerfully when exposed to the united action of air and pure water.

Antimony is added to the lead and copper to prevent, in a great measure, its corrodin'g', also to make it somewhat harder. It under goes no change when exposed to air and atmosphere'at ordinary temperatures.

I; add a certain quantity of copper on account of the ductility, malleability, and tenacity of that metal, and to prevent the-action of Water upon lead, as water has no action \upon copper, p

The antimony prevents the corrosion of lead and copper.

I add bismuth to copper to make it more fusible, a slight admixture being SllffiClGIlt. Copper requires about 1990 Fahrenheit for fusion. V h

I add tin on account of its preventing the other metals from corroding, also for its non corrosive qualities. It is a soft,'1nalleable,- and fusible metal; melts at 440 Fahrenheit;

What I claim as'my invention, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- The aforesaid new and improved alloy metal,

plated or covered, and particularly the addi tion of bismuth, antimony, and tin to lead and copper, in the order, proportions, and for reasons as already stated, using for that purpose the aforesaid metals, or any other substantially the same and which will produce the intended effect.

FREDERICK .P. PFEIFFEB.

Witnesses:

' JOH OBRIEN,

ALEXR, G. RownotrHAM. 

